Marvin, the socially awkward bird

Hurricane Irene caused a lot of damage to the Carolina Coast. In our area we had a stormy day with high winds, but were very fortunate, considering that we're only two hours from the coast.

The high winds didn't bother us, but they must have displaced a little bird from his nest. Nicholas and his friends were playing in the front yard when they found him and brought him inside. The poor little bird was wet and terrified. His beak had a crack, his right wing bent down, no tail, and only one of his eyes was open. We put him in an empty fish tank, gave him water and a couple of worms (never leave good fishing bait go to waste!), and didn't really dare to hope for much. He looked like a goner at that point.

As it turns out, the little bird had a lot of fight in him! By the next day he had both eyes opened. He groomed himself and shed some broken feathers, and greeted us with tweets whenever we came around the tank. We did come around a lot, he was visited at least 10 times a day by the kids and their friends.

We looked around the Internet to find what kind of bird he is and we think that he is a warbler, but we may still have to revise that idea. He is small, the size of a skinny canary, or a finch, and has spindly legs with long nails. He is as sweet as can be. He sits on our shoulders and is very curious. He loves the computer!

We got him a cage and some finch food and vitamins. He eats like a champ, and is looking great, but his tail feathers keep falling off. I am afraid that the base of his tail might have been damaged by the fall, because he has grown feathers on his tail twice, and twice the feathers have fallen off. He might have to live with us from now on, there is no way he could fend for himself if he can't fly.

If you know what kind of bird he is or how to help his tail grow, please do share :)

Marvin on the computer:


Close-up of Marvin's beak, which is fully functional: